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Washington state is failing too many of its 1 million public-school children. Despite an on-time graduation rate of 76.6 percent for the class of 2011, overall nearly one in four students do not graduate on time. Of those who do, too many are unprepared for college-level work. …
OLYMPIA — Charter schools would be constitutional in Washington state under the system proposed by this year’s ballot initiative, Attorney general and would-be governor Rob McKenna said Tuesday.
If voters pass an initiative allowing charter schools, Washington will become one of the nation’s leaders in its embrace of the nontraditional mode of educating students with public funds.
Under Initiative 1240, charter schools would operate with as much or more flexibility, access to funding and accountability than allowed under laws now on the books in 41 states and the District of Columbia.
Washington students are making steady progress on state tests, but too many – especially minority kids – are still failing to reach the big goal of graduating from high school on time, state education officials said Wednesday. … [State Superintendent of Public Education Randy Dorn] said on-time graduation numbers are still too low, particularly for … Read More
When it comes to educating our children, most Washington parents agree that more options are a good thing. That’s why it’s surprising that Washington is not already one of the 41 states that allows parents to choose whether our children can attend a public charter school. It’s especially odd given the high premium our state puts on education and innovation.
Initiative 1240, Washington’s experimental toe dip into charter schools, promises to be serious heavy lifting. Opponents are not going to concede and agree to even a limited, publicly accountable experiment in an education system still structured and governed as it was 100 years ago. …
The official Voters’ Guide Pro and Con statements on Initiative 1240 just came out. I-1240 seeks to lift the state ban on charter schools. I was surprised to read in the Con statement the claim that, “Research conducted by Stanford University and others shows that, overall, charter schools do not perform better than public schools…” … Read More
…Washington state is one of only nine states that don’t have charter schools. But voters can change that in November if they approve Initiative 1240, which will allow up to 40 charters statewide over five years. Chris Eide, who heads a Seattle-based ed reform group called Teachers United, tells redefinED in this emailed Q&A that it’s the students who struggle the most who will benefit if voters say yes.
State Rep. Eric Pettigrew represents a southeast Seattle legislative district with five of the lowest-performing schools in the state. He’s unsuccessfully tried to get charter schools passed in Olympia and he’s pushed for stronger teacher evaluations. …
Pettigrew represents a small but growing number of legislators who are part of a group called Democrats for Education Reform.
… A measure that would allow for the creation of charter schools in Washington will go before voters Nov. 6, after backers of the plan succeeded in collecting enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot. Secretary of State Sam Reed says his office has certified the measure, known as Initiative 1240, allowing it … Read More